Femme Fetale Haul & Swatches

Femme Fatale are a mineral based cosmetics company based in Australia. You can find their website here. 

I recently came across the company and was amazed at their range of duochrome eyeshadows. I'm a huge huge sucker for indie products and loose eyeshadows, add a duochrome into that list and I'm sold!

They offer free international shipping (which is amazing!) for all sample orders. Samples come in baggies with 1/8tsp of product - enough to get a good feel for the shadow. They do two sampler packs - 5 shadows for $5.50 or 10 shadows for $11.

I ordered 10 samples on 19th March and they arrived with me on the 28th - a great turn-around time for a indie brand! Included in the package was a freebie sample (mine was Deepmoss) and a sticker.

Femme Fatale samples & freebie

Each sample has a sticker with the name and ingredients list, and whether or not the shadow is vegan and/or lip safe.

The quality of these shadows are fantastic and I will definitely be ordering more over the coming weeks. Application is smooth, they're pigmented and there is a fantastic array of colours available on their website. The free shipping on samples is a huge huge pro too! The only shade I feel slightly lets the side down is Nexus which doesn't quite adhere as much as the others do - these could be solved by using a sticky base or using the shade wet.

And now, on to the swatches! All swatches are done over bare skin. The captions are descriptions from Femme Fatale's website of each shade.

Moonglow - 'pale columbia blue with a prominent golden duochrome and subtle pink shimmer'

The Masquerade - 'soft, silvery grey with very subtle pink shimmer, yet when applied the base comes out more purple/blue and the pink shift is also more noticeable'

Desecration - 'a striking bright green shimmer over a base mixed of cool grey, subtle brown and pearly purple tones'

Illusions - 'a brown based shade with a hint of auburn undertones, and teal duochrome finish'

Nexus - 'a deep navy with teal tones and brilliant red shimmers and sparks'

Deepmoss - 'a deep navy blue base with a satin smooth green>blue colour shifting shimmer'

Demon Soul - 'a black based shade with a colour-shifting finish, going from green through to red/pink depending on the angle of the light'

Phantasm - 'a pale purple with violet tones and copper orange shimmer'

Velvet Fog - 'a taupe purple base that is hard to describe – it also looks grey/blue because of the aqua shimmer over the top'

The Nightmare - 'an eggplant purple base with intense golden green glimmers and sparkles'

Impsy - 'a rich mulberry purple with strong red tones and golden shimmer'

Overall, I am very impressed with the Femme Fatale eyeshadows that I've tried and I'll definitely be adding some more to my collection. Faves are: Impsy, The Masquerade and Desecration.

NYX Lip Liners: Cabaret, Hot Red, Pinky, Bloom, Purple Rain & Nude Pink

NYX's Slim Lip Pencils retail for around $3.50 in the US and £3.50 on the UK website. NYX is a relatively hard to come by brand in the UK so I was very excited to be able to get hold of 6 of their Slim Lip Pencils.

I am not a huge lip liner person so these liners are perfect for me; they are cheap, great quality and available in a huge range of shades. Wear time for me is typically around 3 hours but I find I use a lip liner with a bold lip which in itself needs touching up quite regularly. I managed to get a broad spectrum of shades within the 6 that I bought so that I can pair them up with most of the lip shades within my collection.

The shades that I have are: 804 Cabaret, 817 Hot Red, 835 Pinky, 836 Bloom, 338 Purple Rain and 858 Pink Nude.

L-R Cabaret, Hot Red, Pinky, Bloom, Purple Rain, Nude Pink

Seventeen Solo Eyeshadow Swatches

Seventeen Solo eyeshadows are available online at Boots for only £3.89. I have 9 of them and think they are a fantastic, good quality, cheap find! The texture is lovely (save for one glittery shade that I own), they are pigmented and apply well, lasting a good 6-8 hours over primer.

There are 16 shades in the range I believe, and they have a great selection when it comes to the colour spectrum- they have everything from neutrals to brights!

These are bigger than the size of MAC shadows so contain a lot of product - I can't see me needing to repurchase any of these any time soon.

I really like the packaging - the eyeshadows are contained within black screw top jars. The packaging does not feel cheap considering the price. My only issue is that it is a little bulky.

Regal is the only shade of the 9 that I have that I find to be sub-par texture and application wise. It is a glittery shade and so has a rather gritty texture and can create a lot of fallout. I find Regal best when applied wet or over a sticky base such as Fyrinnae's Pixie Epoxy.

Pros:
Great shade range, pigmented, long lasting over primer, huge product for a very cheap price, good packaging.

Cons:
The glittery shades can be duds when not used over a sticky base/primer, packaging could be less bulky.

Overall, I highly recommend these eyeshadows, you really can't go wrong for under £4! My favourites are Ivory Coast, Statuesque, Rose Quartz and Gold Emerald.

Holika Holika Jewel Light Waterproof Eyeliners

I love love LOVE Holika Holika's Jewel Light Waterproof eyeliners. The eyeliners are creamy, pigmented and very long lasting; they really do live up to their 'waterproof' name- they wear like iron!

They have 20 shades to choose from and I have a fair few of those swatched for you below.

Priced at around $5-$6 (£3.50-£4), these eyeliners are also very affordable. The packaging is great quality and feels a lot more expensive than it is. The packaging is very similar to Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliners and NYX Glide On, Slide On eyeliners with the upside of being completely co-ordinated to the colour within which makes it super easy to find the shade that you're looking for in a hurry! (The new eyeliners brought out late 2013 have white packaging with the colours on the tips/lids).

I can only praise these eyeliners and I will definitely be adding more to my collection! And now on to the swatches...

*After three swipes with a wet wipe

MAC Lipstick Collection & Swatches: July 2013

One of my favourite brands for lipsticks is MAC. They have a huge range of shades and finishes- enough so that every person can find a shade that suits them. I find that most are long lasting (the mattes especially) and are rarely drying on my lips.

Here are swatches of my current collection :)

Maybelline Color Tattoo Swatches

I love Maybelline's Color Tattoos, so much so that I have 30 of them - nearly all that has been released! And here are the swatches for them all!

For the US and UK name comparison chart click here.

L'oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Swatches

L'oreal's Infallible eyeshadows are a product that took me a while to love; at first glance, and use, I thought 'meh, they're alright'. Fast forward over a year and I have a steadily growing collection and I adore them - I have 12 so far!

Smooth, pigmented and with a beautiful formula, these eyeshadows are so easy to use. The almost wet texture helps control fall out so they are superb to apply, as well as giving a lovely foiled effect with the more metallic shades. The darker shades are fantastic used as eyeliner. And what's even better- these wear like iron!

My only issue is that L'oreal has named the UK versions and US/Canada versions differently which is very confusing. There is a wonderful comparison list here. With the swatches I have also listed the corresponding shade name throughout the world.

These are priced at £6.99 and available within the UK in Superdrug or Boots.

And now- on with the swatches!

L-R Time Resist White (UK), Sahara Treasure (UK), Bronze Goddess (UK)

Time Resist White (UK/Canada) / No US version
Sahara Treasure (UK/Canada) / No US version
Bronze Goddess (UK) / Bronze Divine (Canada) / Gleaming Bronze (US)

L-R Bronzed Taupe (US), Golden Sage (US), Emerald Lame (UK/Canada)

Bronzed Taupe (US/Canada) / No UK version
Golden Sage (US) / Permanent Kaki (Canada) / Permanent Khaki (UK)
Emerald Lame (UK/Canada LE) / Golden Emerald (US)

L-R Flashback Silver (UK), Sassy Marshmallow (UK), Metallic Lilac (UK/Canada)

Flashback Silver (UK/Canada) / Liquid Diamond (US)
Sassy Marshmallow (UK) / Sassy Chamallow (Canada) / No US version
Metallic Lilac (UK/Canada)

L-R Forever Pink (UK/Canada), Burning Black (UK), Perpetual Purple (US)

Forever Pink (US/Canada) / No US version
Burning Black (UK/Canada) / Smoldering Plum (US)
Perpetual Purple (US) / Purple Obsession (UK/Canada)

MUA Powder Blush Swatches: Marshmallow, Bon Bon, Bubblegum, Cupcake, Candyfloss and Lolly

Make Up Academy have recently brought out 6 new blusher shades- Marshmallow, Bon Bon, Bubblegum, Cupcake, Candyfloss and Lolly.

These are only £1 each and are fantastic quality, highly pigmented and a great range of colours. They have also updated their packaging and I prefer the sleeker look of these blushes over the previous style. I also love that they have switched from numbered products to names, and such cute names too!

Two shades have shimmer, Lolly and Candyfloss, the other four are matte.

L'oreal Glam Shine Stain Splash: Romy, Juliet & Milady

I came across these whilst in Boots; priced at £7.99 each I managed to get these three as part of a 3 for 2 offer. I've never tried anything like this before, I've always stuck to lipsticks as I'm not much of a gloss fan- I find they're often too sticky and my hair ends up stuck to my lips all the time. L'oreals Glam Shine Stain Splashes (bit of a mouthful!) are comparable to YSL Glossy Stains, but at just a third of the price!

I picked up Romy, Juliet and Milady.

I surprised myself and absolutely love these. They are buildable and with a few coats can create an opaque lip; alternatively they can be used with one or two swipes to create a sheer lip which is perfect for someone like me who tends to shy away from bold opaque lips (I am trying so hard to get over this though!)

Beauty From The Earth Swatches

Beauty From The Earth are an amazing indie company that offer over 400 shades. You can find them here.

A full size eyeshadow costs $6.50 for 3 grams of product. Samples are also available for $2 each for 0.5 grams of product. BFTE also offer a Colour of the Week for $6- this deal includes 3 additional samples as well as a full size COTW.

The shadows are fantastic quality, pigmented and they have an absolutely amazing array of shades. The also group by colour on their website as well as sections for duo-toned and matte shadows.

And now, on with the swatches! 

Fyrinnae Swatches: The Full List

This post contains ALL of my Fyrinnae swatches- please be warned it is very picture heavy.
You can find their website here and more information here.

Fyrinnae Swatches: Part VII

Here is part seven of my Fyrinnae swatches - find their website here and more information here.

Darling Girl Haul & Swatches

I love Darling Girl; they offer some really unique and complex shades and are fantastic quality.

I took advantage of their 10 petit jars for $23.75 offer, I also specifically held back my order for a couple of days to get the following week's GWP (called Eclipse). I love the fact that the GWP is made known and perhaps, like it did for me, compel you to make an order.

The turn around time was great- I ordered on the 15th January and my shadows reached me in the UK on the 1st February. I also received two free sample baggies with my order as well.

Trust Fund - pale cream gold with pink sparkle that couldn't quite be captured by the camera

Fyrinnae Swatches: Part VI

Here is part six of my Fyrinnae swatches - find their website here and more information here.

Darling Girl Swatches

Darling Girl is an amazing indie company; they offer a huge range of loose eyeshadows as well as lip and face products.

Their eyeshadows are $5.90 for a full sized shadow, and $2.50 for a petit jar. They also offer samples in baggies which are $5 for 5 samples (with a limit of two sets per order). The website states 'full sizes are packaged in 5g jars with approximately 3/4 tsp of product. Petits are packaged in 3g jars with approximately 1/4 tsp of product. Samples are packaged in 2x2 zip lock baggies with approximately 1/8 tsp of product.

There are choose your own sets available; a set of 10 petits with an offer of a 5% discount, and a set of 10 full size shades with a 10% discount. You also recieve a GWP which is advertised in the left hand column on the webpage; each GWP runs for around a week.

The shadows are absolutely amazing quality and are easily comparable to the likes of Fyrinnae; the shades are so complex and there are many duochromes and unique colours.

Hold Back The Rain - this is such a gorgeous grey with a golden sheen and tons of pink sparkle

Fyrinnae Swatches: Part V

Here is part five of my Fyrinnae swatches - find their website here and more information here.

My Pretty Zombie

I've been looking at My Pretty Zombie on Etsy for a while. I ordered 6 samples to try; they came in baggies and cost a total of $6 (minus shipping). A set of three samples costs $3. Full sizes of each shadow are $5; this is for a 5 gram jar without a sifter and an approximate product weight of 1.5g.

There are some interesting, but slightly morbid, names like Rabid Weasel, Kidney Punch and Rabies. I narrowed down my choices to Law Firm Lamb Cake, Wicked Crochet, Gangrenous, Mad Cow, Hoof and Mouth, and Anthrax; the last three being part of the Husbandry Affliction collection.

Fyrinnae Swatches: Part IV

Here is part four of my Fyrinnae swatches - find their website here and more information here.

Sleek Pout Paints

Sleek are a UK drugstore brand, available in Superdrug and online here (they ship worldwide too!)

Their pout paints, comparable to OCC lip tars, are amazing. Highly blendable and very pigmented, they offer you the chance to create your perfect lip colour. They are best applied with a lip brush; you could dab on with your finger but these do leave a stain on your skin. (My arm was stained by Pin Up and Peek-a-Bloo and took a good scrub to get off). The lasting power is fantastic and they stay glossy for a good few hours. I personally prefer to blot to get a more matte appearance (nothing worse than getting my hair stuck to my lips every time the wind blows!)

Fyrinnae Swatches: Part III

Here is part three of my Fyrinnae swatches - find their website here and more information here.